Research proves the eyes are the windows of the soul

The expression of the eye can be a reaction to stimulation from the environment as well as convey the deepest feelings of humans.

Adam Anderson, professor of human development at Cornell University, USA, explains why the eyes are often referred to as the soul window in an article published in the journal Psychological Science on Monday, according to Science Daily. . Anderson discovered that we recognize other people's emotions by analyzing the expressions in their eyes.

"When looking at the face, the eyes dominate in emotional communication. The eyes are the window of the soul because they are the first light receiving part of the visual system. Small emotional changes around The eye affects the way we see it, and this communicates to others about what we are thinking and feeling , " Anderson said.

Eyes wide open (left) are often associated with fearful, curious emotions.While narrowed eyes (right) relate to disgusting, suspicious, and unfavorable emotions.(Photo: Cornell University).

Anderson and Daniel H. Lee, co-author of the study at the University of Colorado, Boulder, USA, created six basic forms of emotional expression including sadness, disgust, anger, joy, fear and surprise. , using images of faces in the database.

Volunteers participating in the study used their eyes to express the above six emotions and one of 50 words describing a specific mental state, such as being considered, curious, depressed, . They completed 600 tests. The results showed that the eye expression of volunteers with 6 basic emotions is always consistent with each other.

Anderson then analyzed mental states related to eye characteristics including eye opening, distance from eyebrows to eyes, wrinkles around the nose, temples and under the eyes.

Anderson discovered that eye expansion is most closely related to the ability of us to read the mental state of others based on their eye expression. For example, eyes that are narrower than normal are related to judgmental feelings such as disgust, suspicion, and disapproval. In contrast, extended eyes associated with emotions related to visual sensitivity such as fear, curiosity. Other features around the eyes also indicate a positive or negative mental state.

"The eyes have evolved over 500 million years ago for the purpose of observing the world. But now it plays an important role in interpersonal communication , " Anderson said.